A Case of Pride
by Ryou VeRua
Summary: Something strange is going on with Yami, and Jounouchi and Honda are determined to find out what, dragging Ryou along for the ride. Meanwhile, Seto and Yami are having problems of their own. YYxS, implied JxR and YxA [for contest]


**A Case of Pride**

Ooh, all you Prideshipping fans must be having a field…well, not day, but week, and anyone following my other stories must be ready to murder me. This is my entry in the YGO fan fiction contest for Prideshipping, and I hope I did okay! (We've got a bit of Puffshipping and Peachshipping in here too, if you can find it)

Prideshipping is definitely not my strong point, so please give it a chance (and sorry it seems so rushed, that's because it was)! And I don't know the timing of Japanese schools, so…

**Disclaimer:** ;.; If only!

* * *

_Tuesday, 11:07, Domino High School, Cafeteria_

It was a normal day. They always did start out as normal days. With school, teachers, classes, and the lunch period just starting, with nothing out of the ordinary occurring yet, who would think it would change? It really is strange how a normal day could twist into something so strange and unheard by a simple action, an idea, or a –

"Yugi! Are we going to your house later?" asked Honda, taking a large bite out of his sandwich. Yugi, Jounouchi, Anzu, Honda and Ryou all sat around a dirty table in the cafeteria.

It was the question Yugi had been dreading.

"It's Yami's turn with the body tonight, remember?" Yugi said calmly; on the inside though, he was panicking. He just hoped the change of subject would keep them busy long enough…

"Oh," Anzu said, looking slightly disappointed, "so you worked that out then?"

"Yup!" Yugi said. He chewed on a carrot thoughtfully. "We tried to make it as fair as possible. He has Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays…and I have the other days. So I'll be free tomorrow." Anzu perked slightly.

"Then what's Yami got planned for us tonight?" Jounouchi asked eagerly. Ryou looked up from his lunch at Yugi too; now all four pairs of eyes were on him, and he wasn't handling the pressure well.

"Well… Actually…" Yugi scratched the back of his neck, his mind racing to sort out how he would put what he was trying to say in a relatively nice way. Instead, he resorted to taking his frustration out on the real culprit.

-You should have just told them yourself, Yami!- He felt Yami's guilt flood their mind link, as well as his gratitude, making Yugi sigh. Why couldn't he ever stay mad at him…

Anzu waved a hand in front of Yugi's face, staring right into his eyes and snapping him out of his reverie (as well as turning his face a bright red).

"You zoned out on us," said Honda. "What were you going to say?"

"Yami-doesn't-want-to-hang-out-with-you-guys-today!" said Yugi in one breath, and quickly braced himself for the uproar.

There was silence for a moment.

"Say WHAT?!"

"I'm really sorry!" said Yugi in a high-pitched voice. "Don't kill the messenger!" And with that, he hopped out of his seat and speeded out of the cafeteria, leaving his friends to blink stupidly at the seat where he had been sitting just a moment ago.

Finally, Jounouchi slammed his fist onto the table. "Yami ditched us! He _ditched_ us! What could be so important that he would ditch _us?!_"

"Maybe he has other things to do today," Anzu deadpanned. Ryou looked back down, determined to keep out of it, and began working on his sandwich.

"What else could he possibly have to do?"

"You're an idiot."

"Shut up, Honda. Look," Jounouchi said, clapping his hands, "I got it. We follow him and see what he's doing!"

There was a scraping sound as Anzu pushed her chair back. "You guys do what you want, but I'm not intruding on Yami's private life." She gave them all a glare. "And if you're smart, or have even one nice bone in your body, you won't either." With that, she stomped off after Yugi.

"I'm with you!" said Honda cheerfully, as soon as Anzu was out of sight. The silence that followed made Ryou pause in mid-bite. _Uh-oh…_

"So… Detective Bakura. How does that sound? I think it has a nice ring to it."

Ryou decided to take the chance and look up, and immediately regretted it. There was a glint in Jounouchi and Honda's eyes that he didn't like at all. Ryou picked up his tray quickly and slung his bag over his shoulder, walking away as fast as he could without looking too out of the ordinary. "Well, I've got to go! Homework to start on, teachers to talk to –"

"There will be creampuffs."

Ryou froze mid-step. "What?"

"You heard me," grinned Jounouchi.

_How does he know?_ Ryou inwardly moaned, _How does he always know?_ He turned around to face the two smirking boys.

"How many?"

"As many as you want," Honda said, catching on quickly.

"I'll make them myself!"

"Maybe buying them would be a better idea, we don't want to poison him –"

Ryou's stomach gave a loud gurgle. "A-Alright, alright! I'll do it!"

"Welcome to the team, Bakura!"

-o-O-o-O-o-

_3:00, Domino High, Front Yard_

"We're stalking him…" Ryou murmured, feeling very uncomfortable.

"No," Jounouchi said, frowning. "We're following him. We're keeping an eye on him!"

"Dude, it's called stalking."

"Yeah, well…don't think of it like that. Think of it as spying! It's like in the movies!"

The three of them sat behind the bushes in the front of the school, waiting for some sign of Yami. There had been nothing yet.

"Guys…we've been here for half an hour…maybe he's already left? Or maybe –"

Jounouchi's hand covered Ryou's mouth; Ryou looked at him, annoyed, only to see Honda gesture to the parking lot. Ryou looked.

Yami was there, getting into… a limousine with Seto Kaiba? They all had to rub their eyes, and by the time they looked again, the door had shut and the car was making its way out of the parking lot.

Ryou was the first to stand up. "Mystery solved, then –"

"That bastard kidnapped Yami!"

I should have seen this coming.

"I don't trust this either," Honda said, glaring at where the car had been just moments before.

"We're gonna go and rescue our friend!" Jounouchi said, a fire burning in his eyes.

"But Yugi said Yami _wanted _to –"

"You said you would," Jounouchi said. "You said you would help us, and now we want you to help him. Kaiba must have blackmailed him or something!"

Ryou gaped at him, mouth opening and closing soundlessly; Jounouchi nodded, satisfied.

"Meet me in front of the Kaiba mansion at 4:30, okay Bakura? Honda and I have a few things to prepare."

-o-O-o-O-o-

_4:41, Kaiba Mansion, Yard_

"Okay, you ready?" Jounouchi whispered excitedly to Ryou.

Jounouchi, Honda, and Ryou were currently hiding up in a large tree, one of the many great trees surrounding the Kaiba mansion, each with a pair of binoculars hanging from their necks; that was where the similarities ended, however, as Jounouchi and Honda were both stark naked.

Ryou turned to Jounouchi, turning slightly red as he carefully averted his eyes from the areas neck down.

"No, I'm not ready!" Ryou whispered back furiously. "In fact, I'm not very comfortable at all right now! Isn't there some other plan we could use? Something that _isn't_ this?"

"Don't tell me you've got cold feet already! What's better then the classic 'distract the guards while someone sneaks in' plan? You did the same for me back in Pegasus' castle, remember?" Honda said idly, as if they were completing everyday, normal tasks.

"I didn't go streaking!" squeaked Ryou. "And in front of armed guards – this is beyond stupid! It's dangerous!"

"They can see as plain as day that we aren't armed," said Jounouchi dismissively ("That's not all they can see," Ryou muttered venomously). "To them, we're just a couple of delinquents, that's all. Besides," he added seriously, "our buddy is in there. Do you just want to sit and wait around while Kaiba goes and puts him through another crazy hell ride like Death-T?"

"I wasn't there for Death-T, remember?"

Jounouchi and Honda gave him identical penetrating glares and he shifted awkwardly.

"Fine, I'll go, but just don't get caught," Ryou mumbled sulkily, silently berating himself for giving in to them so easily. Jounouchi and Honda gave each other congratulatory grins on a job well done.

Honda peered through his binoculars at the large mansion ahead. He gave a low whistle after a moment or two and nudged Jounouchi. "It looks like today is our lucky day. We got an open window on the second floor."

Jounouchi was quick to pick up his own and started scanning the mansion. "Where? I don't see it."

"Look to the left."

"Still don't –"

"That's not left, that's right! I said the left!"

"_Oh!_ There it is!"

Jounouchi then gave a nudge (Ryou felt it was more accurately described as a shove) to Ryou, who hadn't been paying attention, looking for the window himself, and nearly fell out of the tree.

"That's where you gotta climb to."

"D-Don't you think…" Ryou gulped, voice shaking, and started again. 'Don't you think t-that's a little high? I was never good at gym…"

"Not good at the running, maybe, but you gave us all a run for our money when it came to climbing!" Jounouchi said, clapping Ryou on the back and almost knocking him out of the tree again.

"Where are our clothes again? You did bring them, right?" asked Honda suddenly. Jounouchi's eyes widened.

"Crap, I knew we forgot something."

"Jounouchi! I'm gonna kill you–"

"Duck!" Ryou hissed, reaching to the side and yanking both of them down. While the two were bickering, a guard had turned around the left corner of the mansion. Ryou could only hope the leaves blocked them sufficiently. What was the penalty for trespassing on private property again…?

_Those had better be some amazing creampuffs._

-o-O-o-O-o-

_4:52, Kaiba Mansion, Seto Kaiba's bedroom_

Dark eyes met blue as their lips collided; their tongues battling the age-old war over dominance. Their bodies fell onto the bed intertwined, Seto trapping Yami underneath him with his body –

Yami pushed Seto off of him (and clear off the bed), and glared at him.

"You aren't on top this time."

Seto pushed himself up and gave a dangerous glare to match Yami's right back. Every time, every damn time, they had to have this argument.

_Why couldn't I have chosen a more submissive boyfriend?! Like Yugi…they look almost look the same… _

He clambered onto the bed, glaring daggers at Yami. "And just why the hell not?" he said through gritted teeth.

"I let you be on top last time, and now it's only fair that I'm on top this time," said Yami coolly, eyes never leaving Seto's. Now the one thing that Seto prided himself on was his ability to keep cool no matter what the situation, but he was now finding it increasingly difficult. It was bad enough that Yami had taken his title away from him so long ago, but now he was planning to take this too?

_Never!_

He was about to voice these thoughts when a voice crackled across his desktop intercom.

"Sir! There are trespassers on the grounds!"

In his mind's eye, Seto could see the machinery blowing up; the only sign of notice Seto gave on the outside was an annoyed sigh. He left Yami on his bed, who watched the CEO with a bewildered look on his face, and slammed one fist onto the intercom button, almost shattering it.

"Then go do your job! Take care of them!"

"B-but sir –"

Seto gave a growl of frustration. "Are they armed?"

"No sir, but –"

"Then there should be no problem." Seto's voice, at this point, had become like ice: cold and hard. All underlings who worked for him recognized the signs; he was ready to snap at any given moment.

The guard gulped audibly. "O-of course there's no problem, Mr. Kaiba, but I think this is something you should see yourself, though not, of course, if you're busy, it's simply that –"

There was a crackle as another intercom was turned on and Mokuba's giddy laughter echoed around the bedroom, drowning out the rambling guard. Yami looked over at the intercom where Seto stood stock-still, interest finally perked.

"Seto, there are streakers running around the mansion!" Mokuba said, shrieking with laughter.

Seto rushed to the window, pushing back the silk blue curtains and peered through the window. Two small, but undeniably naked figures, one blond and the other a brunette, could be seen running across the yard, a flock of guards chasing after them. The blond, as if sensing that he was being watched, looked up, straight at him, and gave him a thumbs-up. Seto's blood boiled. _That little…_

He could feel Yami trying to push past him. "Is it true? Streakers?" asked Yami mildly, straining to see past Seto. "How could they have gotten past your security?"

Seto didn't answer him, but instead walked back to the intercom, a large smirk forming on his face.

"Takashi?"

"Sir?"

"Don't shoot... directly at the trespassers." Seto's smirk widened. "Just close enough to keep them on their toes."

-o-O-o-O-o-

_4:57, Kaiba Mansion, Yard_

The sound of gunshots coming from the security guards' weapons could be heard from far away, but not as well as the yell that followed it.

"DAMN YOU KAIBA!!!"

-o-O-o-O-o-

_4:57, Kaiba Mansion, Guest Room #7_

Anyone standing outside the door, if they listened closely, would be able to hear the low gasps reminiscent of a warrior who had single-handedly fought an army with nothing more than a slingshot and a bag of aquarium pebbles. If they dared to venture into the room however, they would see a scrawny boy with ragged, slightly torn clothes and scratches all over his arms and legs that looked irritable at best. The vines that had crept up the walls of the Kaiba Mansion over the years apparently had thorns.

_Prickly thorns to match his personality_, he snickered, then sucked on his thumb where a particularly annoying thorn had tried to hold on. _If I find out Jounouchi and Honda didn't pay an arm and a leg for those creampuffs, there will be Hell to pay. They better be high class. Or they can steal them from Kaiba, since we're already here. Screw ethics, he's got a ton of money._

The rest of the day might have been spent like that, sulking on the floor and nursing his scratches, if it wasn't for the sound of gunshots. He was at the window like a shot, staring in horror at the two naked boys running across the yard with guards deliberately shooting just behind their heels.

That wasn't the end. Jounouchi and Honda were so busy trying to stay ahead of the bullets that they didn't see the guards rounding the other side of the mansion to head them off. Ryou barely stopped himself from yelling out a warning; the guards weren't aiming to kill, and this distraction was for him to find Yami.

Ryou peeked through the crack of the door only to jump backwards when Seto and Yami strode past, followed closely by two burly men. _Yami looks fine…but I need to follow them. I need new clothes anyway. Maybe there's an extra suit around…?_

Ryou opened the closet door only to find –

_Please tell me I'm dreaming._

-o-O-o-O-o-

_5:13, Kaiba Mansion, Living Room_

"Can we please borrow some clothes?"

Honda and Jounouchi stood in the centre of what was presumably the living room, still bare-naked, and surrounded by guards. None of them answered, but one of them cracked his knuckles menacingly; they took it as a definite no.

Seto Kaiba finally entered the room and the two boys stiffened. He was followed in by none other then Yami.

Three jaws dropped.

"Yami? What're you doing with him?"

"Jounouchi? Honda? Why are you naked – actually, don't tell me. I really don't want to know."

"They were making a fool out of me, that's what." Seto stalked forward, Yami trailing behind him staring at his two friends (though he was careful to keep his gaze above the waist), until he was nose to nose with Jounouchi.

"There's a very high price for trespassing," said Seto coldly, his eyes glittering with poorly veiled malice.

"Does having clothes on when you do the trespassing make any difference?"

Yami pulled Seto back quickly after that remark; he could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears. Waving away the guards, who shuffled out slowly (waiting respectfully first for the maid to come in), he said quietly out of the earshot of Jounouchi and Honda, "I'll make it up to you later if you let them get away with it."

"How?"

Yami smirked, "I think you know how."

"That means I'm on top then?"

The smirk dropped right off of Yami's face. "No, that means I'll give you an opportunity to duel for it. _After_ they get dressed."

"Damnit… Fine. But you better keep a leash on your cronies next time, or they won't be so lucky." With that, he turned to Jounouchi and Honda. "I'll let you off this time," he said, ignoring their shocked faces, "but if I ever see you within ten metres of my property –"

"You'll sue our pants off? Sorry buddy, but I think we beat you to the punch," snickered Honda.

"Out. Now!" Seto snarled, gesturing to the maid and then pointing out the door. The maid ushered them out of the room and they followed her quickly, eager to comply.

-o-O-o-O-o-

_5:18, Kaiba Mansion, Guest Room_

Jounouchi gave a large sigh of relief as he did up the zipper to his pants. "I thought you were gonna get caught for a second, Bakura. You are lucky you're so –"

"Don't finish that sentence," Ryou muttered, undoing the maid outfit.

"Nah, you looked good in it!"

"Really?"

"You know, if Yami had actually paid even a bit of attention to you, you would've been toast," said Honda, pulling a shirt over his head.

"I'm just surprised Yami convinced Kaiba to let us borrow these clothes. Did you see how pissed the guy was?"

"Yeah, I thought he was going to jump as at any time!" The two started laughing loudly. Ryou simply rolled his eyes at them and put on the rest of his clothes.

"You're really lucky, you know. If Yami hadn't talked him out of punishing you, I don't think you'd be laughing."

"Don't I know it! I really owe the guy now…"

Honda turned to Ryou. "Hey, you were there. What did he say?"

"Er… Basically, he said he would give Kaiba a chance to duel him. I guess he still wants his old title back."

When he looked at Jounouchi and Honda, he knew he had done something wrong, and he knew exactly what it was.

"They're gonna duel a title match? Here? Now? Why didn't you say so in the first place? See you later!" With that, Jounouchi and Honda ran out of the room.

"But you don't even know where they are!" Ryou shouted after them.

_I knew I shouldn't have said the 'd' word. Why doesn't anyone listen to me?_

-o-O-o-O-o-

_5:34, Kaiba Mansion, Grand Hall_

Jounouchi, Honda and Ryou arrived halfway through the duel, but even just watching the second half was exciting enough for them. It was an exciting duel, but after many masterful plays by both sides, the usual outcome was approaching.

Yami and the Dark Magician stared Kaiba down, both with the same merciless smirk adorning their faces. Kaiba watched in horror as the remains of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon disappeared.

"It's game over. I win."

Seto growled, but bowed his head. He had lost to his boyfriend, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Yeah, Yami!" Jounouchi yelled, giving a large whoop. "You see that, Kaiba? Yami will always be on top!"

Now, the group on the sidelines expected no reaction to a comment made by Jounouchi, or at the very least, not a big one. But what happened next they found rather curious, not to mention quite out of character. Seto's cheeks flushed a bright red and they could have sworn that his right eye twitched.

Yami, on the other hand, was acting strangely too. As soon as the comment had burst out of Jounouchi's mouth, he had lost his victory smirk and made an odd choking sound. He had then put his cards on the duelling table quickly and stuffed his fist into his mouth, but didn't manage to keep his laughter in. He gave up and simply doubled over, laughing.

"What's going on…?" Jounouchi wondered aloud.

Meanwhile, Ryou's poor brain was working overtime. Oh, he knew there was something going on, and this was directly tied to the mystery he was trying to solve, but what was it? What was the answer?

Seto, face a furious red, spun towards a bewildered Jounouchi.

"How long have you known?" he bellowed; before Jounouchi could answer, he turned towards Yami, who was still trying to catch his breath between chuckles. "You said you wouldn't tell! Damnit Yami, this will ruin me!"

"I – didn't –" Yami took a couple deep breaths, "I…I didn't tell – I c-can promise you that…" That was all Seto got from him before he dissolved into laughter again.

"What do we know…?" whispered a confused Jounouchi to Honda, who shrugged back.

"I'll give you five hundred dollars each to keep your mouths shut –"

"You and Yami are going out!" Ryou blurted suddenly. It had took him longer then it should have, now that he realized what was going on, but it had finally clicked into place.

Seto stood perfectly still, wad of money still in his open hand. Yami had stopped laughing, and was staring at the group with a nervous, guilty look on his face while Honda gaped at the pair. As for Jounouchi…

Ryou bit his lip as he stared at Jounouchi on the ground, who had just fainted.

"Oops."

-o-O-o-O-o-

_Wednesday, 11:06, Domino High, Cafeteria_

It was hard to believe, but the matter was resolved (once Jounouchi woke up, of course). It turned out that Yami and Seto had been seeing each other for months now.

"So that's where Yugi was all those times when he said he was busy…" Honda had commented. But after a heavy dose of interrogations (Yami had quite a laugh at the idea of Ryou in a maid's outfit, much to Ryou's annoyance) and the three being sworn to an oath of silence, Seto was finally satisfied. Still, Seto insisted that he would sit at their lunch table everyday from now on to make sure they kept their promise, at least at school; none of them believed him though, as they had seen him and Yami have an in depth discussion before entering the cafeteria.

Other then the fact that their table's population had just increased by one, it seemed that it was just a normal day –

"I can't come tonight, I'm sorry!"

"Neither can I – I have…er…dance tonight! Yeah!"

"Bye!" shouted Yugi and Anzu, running out of the cafeteria. The boys left, minus Seto, had the irritating feeling known as déjà vu.

Jounouchi and Honda both turned to Ryou expectantly; surprisingly, he was looking back at them with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Well, they _are_ just asking for us to spy on them."

* * *

It was my attempt at being funny, and it might have been if I spent more time on it. --;

All those following AtF and MLO, I'm so sorry! I've hit a block that I am having lots of trouble getting around! But I always try to keep my creative juices flowing, so if I'm not trying to work on more chapters I'm working on new fics so my imagination doesn't die on me.

Sorry again!

And of course…reviewing makes the world go round!

Edit: Changed the Guest Room 7# section because it was bothering me. I think it's better now. :) 


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